Reading: Matthew chapter 3 verses 1-18.
Quote: R.C. Sproul (the American author, theologian and pastor):
“The soul is lifted up by the contemplation of the glory of God and of his only begotten Son”
“It is Christ in his glory who is the object of our worship and adoration. As Christians we join the communion of saints and the host of heaven in lifting up praise and honour to him”.
The baptism of Jesus was an incredible event:
• John was the cousin of Jesus;
• And probably for the first time since they were children;
• They come face to face, eye to eye, they stand toe to toe!
(1). John the Baptist:
• Must have been a thrilling sight,
• As he stood preaching and baptising in the Jordan river,
• He did not just arrive on the scene;
• He exploded ill: stick of dynamite!
• He would have been unlike anything that the people of his day;
• Had ever witnessed or seen.
I say that because John the baptiser was in total contrast to the religious leaders of his day:
• Verse 4a: He was simplistic in Dress.
• Ill: Camel hair & leather belt (Not a fashion statement)
• Verse 4b: He was simplistic in his diet.
• Ill: Locusts & wild honey (Not a health diet)
• Verse 1: He was simplistic in life-style.
• Ill: He lived in the desert of Judea (No need for material possessions that dominate our lives)
• Verse 3: He was simplistic in his message.
• He was easily understood (Ill: we would call him a fire & brimstone preacher).
ill:
• And like iron filings drawn to a magnate,
• Verse 5: Informs us they came from everywhere to hear him:
• Drawn by the reality of both;
• The messenger and the message.
(2). John and his message:
• In verses 11-12: John makes four great predictions concerning the Messiah:
• There are four clear promises concerning Jesus.
Let’s look at them starting in verse 11:
"I baptise you with water for repentance.
But after me will come one who is more powerful than I,
whose sandals I am not fit to carry…….
• (1st prediction:) “HE WILL baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”.
• The next 3 predictions follow:
• (2nd:) “His winnowing fork is in his hand,
• and HE WILL clear HIS threshing-floor,”
• (3rd prediction:) “Gather HIS wheat into the barn”
• (4th prediction:) “And burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire".
Now this was a familiar picture to John's hearers:
• They didn't have combined harvesters etc,
• They did their manually, they worked by hand,
• John uses this everyday picture to teach them important spiritual truths;
• John tells them that the Messiah will do a cleansing, a cleaning up work.
ill:
In New Testament days:
• A farmer would put his fork into the pile of harvested grain before him,
• He would then lift it up, throwing it into the air, into the wind.
• The light useless chaff would blow to the side,
• Later that chaff would be swept up and burnt.
• While the heavier, valuable kernels of wheat,
• Would fall to the ground and be gathered up into the barn.
John uses this picture, this imagery, to predict that:
• When the Messiah appears he will cut through all the worthless chaff;
• That is the empty religion of the Pharisees.
• And he will locate the good wheat;
• That is those people who are genuine, true seekers of God.
Notice:
• The strong language that John the baptiser uses:
• He uses four verbs, four action words:
• "He will baptise".
• "He will clean".
• "He will gather".
• "He will burn up".
John's message was bold, newfangled, and authoritative;
• And like all new ideas today, it was bound to meet with resistance.
• And it did! (but that is another sermon for another day!)
(3). John and Jesus:
• Without announcement, without appointment, without a word being spoken:
• We read in verse 13 of the arrival of Jesus.
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John".
Don't miss the impact of these next few verses:
• For thirty years as far as we know:
• Jesus has been working day after day in his fathers carpenters shop.
• For thirty years he has simply been the son of Joseph & Mary.
• For thirty years he has simply been just another citizen of Nazareth.
• But now in verse 13 that's all going to change.
• For John, Jesus and the crowd of witnesses gathered;
• This was going to be the start of another important chapter in the history of the world!
• Jesus would leave the carpenters shop and become an itinerant preacher!
In verse 14 we have John's Reluctance to baptize Jesus.
"But John tried to deter him, saying,
"I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?"
Don't miss the point of John the baptisers words:
• Ill: This would be like Mozart asking me for piano lessons.
• Ill: Van Gogh asking me for painting lessons.
• Ill: Pavarotti asking me for singing lessons.
• Ill: Eric Cantona asking me for football lessons.
So in verse 14b John the baptiser says to Jesus:
• "You got it the wrong way round";
• "I need to be baptised by you".
• John would probably have stood there gob-smacked:
• "How can I er, er..."....you, er, gotta baptise me! This just don't make sense!"
Think of the crowd as they were all watching:
• This must have seemed so puzzling,
• This must have really confused them.
• I say that because John the baptiser had stood toe to toe;
• With the religious heavy weights of his day.
• And not only had he stood toe to toe with them,
• He won! He beat them!
Not only that:
• John the baptiser was going to preach against the reigning monarch,
• Herod the king of his own area,
• In fact literally on his own doorstep.
• And not be afraid and not back down.
John the baptiser, the one who feared no man;
• He had looked them all straight in the eye,
• And THEY (not him) all backed down,
• Yet suddenly before this stranger:
• And if anyone did recognise Jesus, he was only a carpenter!
• John trembles in reverence before him.
• Transfixed by this individual.
• Engrossed, absorbed, captivated….
• He was literally stopped in his tracks by his reverence for Jesus;
Note:
• Jesus' response to John in verse 15:
• "Let it be so NOW: it is proper for US (You and I) to do this to fulfil all righteousness".
• Jesus tells John ;
• “You don't understand why, but trust me, obey me, cause I know why”.
• Verse 15 is a very awkward verse to understand;
• If I was to paraphrase it, I would say:
"By doing it at this time, and in this way, we link up,
we join forces, were on the same side, as we proclaim what is right".
So John reluctantly and not understanding why:
• Obeys the words of Jesus,
• He agrees to baptize the Messiah.
Note:
• The baptism of Jesus was different from all the other people John baptised.
• All the other people were baptised for repentance (sign sorry for their sins).
• The baptism of Jesus was not for repentance:
• Even John proclaimed him perfect, by wanting to swap roles,
The baptism of Jesus was to do with identity not repentance:
• Jesus identified himself with the sinful people around him.
• The people he had lived among for thirty years.
• ill: Ivor & Bob at Court.
• Jesus did this all through his life.
• ill: Luke chapter 15 verse 1:
• "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them".
Here through being baptised Jesus identifies himself with us:
• A picture pointing forward to the cross, when he would not only identify with,
• But he would actually become the bearer of mankind's sin.
(4). Jesus and the Baptism
16”As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
• Three things to note:
• Three things happened at the baptism of Jesus:
(1). Heaven opened.
“At that moment heaven was opened”
• Matthew in using that phrase;
• Is letting the people know that the kingdom of God has arrived;
• One of the last Old Testament prophets had asked (Isaiah chapter 64 verse 1);
• “Why don’t you tear the sky apart and come down?”
• Matthew tells his readers that God has done just that;
• He has opened heaven, he has torn the sky apart and come down.
(2). The Holy Spirit has returned.
“…and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him”
• For 400 years there had been no word from God;
• 400 years of heavenly silence.
• No one saying “Thus saith the Lord”,
• No one writing “The word of the Lord came to me saying”
• Just 400 years of heavenly dumbness;
• 400 years of silence!
Matthew now tells his readers that the long wait is over:
• The Spirit of God is active again;
• The Spirit of God will speak clearly again through Jesus the Christ.
Ill: Luke in his gospel adds:
“And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit
descended on him in bodily form (Only Luke records that) like a dove.”
• The Holy Spirit who is by name and nature a Spirit;
• As a Spirit he cannot be seen, descended on Jesus in visible bodily form!
• He appears under the symbolism of a dove;
• (Symbolism of a dove may speak of purity, gentleness and graciousness!)
Ill: John in his gospel adds:
“…the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
• The Holy Spirit remained for a while, it did not immediately disappear;
• (Symbolism is here is the one marked out and approved of the Holy Spirit).
• Jesus was ordained by God for a specific task.
• Jesus was qualified to carry it out!
(3). Jesus is the Son of God.
“And a voice from heaven said,
"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
• I like the translation that says:
• "This is my Son, whom I love; in him is my delight.”
The words spoken by God the Father:
• Are words that we find in the Old Testament book of Psalms.
• Words that were originally meant for the coronation of Israel’s king.
• e.g. Psalm 2 verse 7:
• “You are my son; today I have become your father”.
But these words also have a darker side to them;
• Matthew’s readers would have also been reminded of Isaiah the prophet’s words;
• Concerning the mysterious Suffering Servant.
• Chapter 42 verse 1:
• “Here is my servant, whom I strengthen, the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased”
This voice from heaven is far more than:
• Just a fatherly pat on the head; "a well done son".
• It is a seal of approval as to who Jesus is:
• Up to know he has been; "Jesus, son of Joseph & Mary".
• Now he is declared to be; "Jesus, Son of God".
• Not only is he declared to be Israel’s king;
• He is declared too as the suffering servant,
• The one who will not just identify with peoples sins by being baptised;
• But he is the one who will bear away that sin through his death on the cross.
